Light Peak Fiber Optic Technology for the PC

September 29, 2009 by 1 Comment

light_peak_FullChip_LaserOff_cropUSB 3.0 is the latest and greatest of the USB specs that is becoming available at the moment. However, Intel have some other ideas that include fibre optics for transferring data from device to device.

The new technology displayed by Intel last week at the developer forum is called Light Peak and it allows you to connect many devices to a PC with fibre optic lines. The technology might just seem like an idea for now, but Intel have managed to get endorsement from Sony and are looking to make the technology mainstream.

Intel wont be able to make this happen alone, so rather than trying it alone they are wanting to work with USB to see if they can come up with a fibre optic based USB system. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Computer Gadgets

Dell Latitude Z 600 16″ Laptop Announced

September 29, 2009 by Leave a Comment

dell_latitude_z_600_official_1Dell have released details of their latest flagship business laptop. It is named the Dell Latitude Z 600 and has a 16 inch screen that can display a resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels. The keyboard on the Dell Z 600 is backlit.

When buying the Dell Z 600 laptop you have the choice of 2 processors which include an Intel Core 2 Duo running at 1.4GHz (SU9400) or a 1.6GHz SU9600 processor. Memory wise you can opt to have up to 4GB installed as well as dual SSD drives for storage if wanted.

The Dell Z 600 laptop also has an optional wireless charging stand that costs around $200 for each of the stand and wireless module for the laptop. Also a wireless dock that houses a USB, DVI and other connections can be purchased. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Laptops

Native BlackBerry Twitter App Coming Soon

September 29, 2009 by Leave a Comment

native_blackberry_twitter_clientTwitter has become very popular this last year and for this reason, a number of people are using their mobile phones more to access the service so they can send tweets while on the move.

For this reason, RIM are now working on building a native Twitter client for BlackBerry devices. The new native application should include features seen on desktop applications including trending topics and groups. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

My Documents Laptop Bag

September 29, 2009 by 1 Comment

my_documents_laptop_sleeveThe My Documents folder found on Windows PC’s is a popular place where you find a bunch of your images, videos and other types of documents… hence the name. Now the My Documents folder has been made in to a laptop bag that lets you store all of your documents, ie your laptop, in a nice handy case.

The case it’s self is bright yellow to reflect what it looks like on the desktop. The font used is pixelated to give it that computer look. The laptop bag can hold laptops with screens up to 15.4″ in size.

As well as getting the My Documents Laptop Bag you also get a pixelated cursor pin to add to the effect. It’s a kind of cool looking back although I doubt I’d ever carry one around. For those of you who could, check out more details below. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Laptops

Hasselblad H4D 60 Megapixel Camera Launching

September 28, 2009 by Leave a Comment

hasselblad-h4d-lg1Hasselblad are launching their latest camera named the H4D. The H4D is a 60 megapixel camera that uses a true off-centre autofocus system…

…known as True Focus. Where even DSLRs often have to first focus and then reposition the camera to get focus significantly away from the center, the H4D has a yaw rate sensor that can detect the horizontal and vertical movement away from the focus point and refocus the lens to compensate.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Camera Gadgets

Augmented Reality brings Google Earth to Life

September 28, 2009 by 2 Comments

Google-Earth-Augmented-RealityAlthough Google Earth is a fantastic program allowing you to quickly zoom in and out of most of the earth with an excellent amount of detail, what it still lacks is life as everything you look at is static.

A new system being tested brings real time events to Google Earth to make an augmented reality. Examples of this working could be zooming in to a road to see cars driving and pedestrians walking. The data used to generate this information actually captures the current live traffic and current locations of pedestrians to let you know how busy a certain area is. Another example allows you to zoom in to a football stadium and actually see a clip from several angles of people playing football. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News

Canon EOS 7D HD Video Test

September 28, 2009 by Leave a Comment

canon_eos7d_test_rigA few weeks ago we mentioned the Canon EOS 7D was launching soon. A video has arrived on the net showing exactly what sort of 1080p quality you can expect from this camera. The video’s were captured by Dan Chung and filmed in low light using a 1600 to 6400 ISO setting.

Also, another test rig can also be viewed showing Matt Jaspers Canon EOS 7D setup. Check out the images after the jump as well as the 1080p HD video test, both look superb. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Camera Gadgets

Haynes – The Video Gaming Manual Review

September 28, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Haynes-The-Video-Gaming-Manual-Commodore-Amiga-500Haynes recently sent me their latest manual for review. When people think of Haynes in the UK, it’s normally car manuals that come to mind. In this case we are actually reviewing “The Video Gaming Manual” which is described as the essential guide to modern and retro gaming platforms.

On the cover of the manual are a bunch of old computers and consoles ranging from a ZX Spectrum, to a Sega Master System, on to a Game Cube and then to a Playstation 3. The book starts off describing what video gaming is, when it first started and the steps it took to get to where it is today. Each page is printed in full colour and each page also has plenty of images from various games with many of them being very familiar and popular games of the past. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Gadget Reviews

iPhone on Orange Coming Soon – O2 Loose Exclusivity

September 28, 2009 by Leave a Comment

o2-uk-lose-iphone-exclusivityOrange have just signed a deal with Apple that will now let them sell the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S. Orange will be selling them in the UK before Christmas.

This is a great move as a number of people haven’t been too pleased with how O2 handle customer service. Also there have been a few network issues where coverage is concerned and people say they haven’t been able to get the best coverage on the O2 network. Hopefully Orange’s network will prove to be better on that front. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

iPhone MMS Now Available

September 25, 2009 by Leave a Comment

iphone-mmsIt’s kind of strange announcing that one of the latest and greatest phones now has a feature that a number of phones have had since about 2003, but anyway, the iPhone 3G S finally has MMS and is is officially live and functioning.

To get this “fancy new feature” on your iPhone you need to connect your phone up to iTunes and run a quick update that takes just a few seconds. After that a reboot is needed and you are good to go. The application seems fairly straight forwards to use in that you simply just select an image to send via MMS and you are good to go. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

An Implant Microchip Could help Restore Vision

September 25, 2009 by Leave a Comment

mit-retinal-implantResearchers at MIT are currently working on a retinal implant that can bypass damaged cells and send visual input to the brain to help restore vision.

Those who use the implant will need to wear a pair of glasses which have a built in camera embedded in them. The signal from the camera will then be sent to the microchip embedded in the eye which will then forward that visual signal on to the brain.

Although vision won’t be 100% fixed with the implant the camera and chip combination will help those to navigate around a room for example. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News

iPhone Notepad – The Notepod

September 25, 2009 by Leave a Comment

notepod-iphone-notepadIf pen and paper is your preferred method of making notes, but you still love the thought of owning an iPhone then perhaps the Notepod notepad is for you.

The Notepod is shaped just like an iPhone and has the exact same dimensions as the iPhone 3G S. Each page is designed to look like the front of an iPhone.

The Notepods come in packs of 3 and cost $17.95 for the set. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones